Protesters carrying an Egyptian flag demonstrate as cars try to make their way through Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Egypt's military is taking down the makeshift tents of protesters who camped out on Tahrir Square in an effort to allow traffic and normal life to return to central Cairo. There were a few verbal altercations between soldiers and protesters Sunday morning as the tents were removed, but the process was generally peaceful.

AP Photo 2 hours ago

Protesters demonstrate as cars try to make their way through Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Egypt's military is taking down the makeshift tents of protesters who camped out on Tahrir Square in an effort to allow traffic and normal life to return to central Cairo. There were a few verbal altercations between soldiers and protesters Sunday morning as the tents were removed, but the process was generally peaceful.

Reuters Pictures 2 hours ago

An Egyptian soldier takes up position outside the Interior Ministry in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 13, 2011. Thousands of protesters streamed back into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday after the army tried to disperse them and gunfire was heard near the Interior Ministry where police were demonstrating over wages.

Reuters Pictures 2 hours ago

Opposition supporters run towards the Interior Ministry near Tahrir Square in Cairo February 13, 2011. Thousands of protesters streamed back into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday after the army tried to disperse them and gunfire was heard near the Interior Ministry where police were demonstrating over wages.

AP Photo 2 hours ago

Protesters demonstrate as traffic returns to Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Egypt's military is taking down the makeshift tents of protesters who camped out on Tahrir Square in an effort to allow traffic and normal life to return to central Cairo. There were a few verbal altercations between soldiers and protesters Sunday morning as the tents were removed, but the process was generally peaceful.

Reuters Pictures 3 hours ago

An Egyptian policeman is carried by opposition supporters in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 13, 2011. Thousands of protesters streamed back into Tahrir Square on Sunday after the army sought to disperse them from the heart of Cairo where they have vowed to stay to hold the army to its promises of reform, witnesses said.

Getty Images 49 minutes ago

CAIRO, EGYPT – FEBRUARY 13: Egyptian policemen demonstrate for higher salaries in front of the Interior Ministry on February 13, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. The officers also complained that their reputations had been besmirched, as one officer said, 'by a few bad police,' during the uprising.

Egyptian police demonstrate outside the Interior Ministry, which was guarded by army soldiers on armored personnel carriers and tanks, near Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. The police, hated for their brutality and corruption under decades-old emergency laws, marched Sunday through Tahrir Square to the Interior Ministry demanding better pay and conditions, but also sought to absolve themselves of responsibility for the police's attempted crackdown at the start of the protests that killed many demonstrators.

Getty Images 2 hours ago

A demonstrator looks as Egyptian soldiers dismantle tents used by protestors to sleep at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the popular revolt that drove veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years on February 13, 2011. Traffic again flowed through much of Cairo's emblematic Tahrir Square as most protesters headed home following the nationwide revolt that brought down president Hosni Mubarak.

Rakyat akan kembali semula ke jalan raya untuk mengajar tentera..

Soldiers clash with protesters in Cairo

Clashes have broken out between protesters and the army in Egypt, as a large crowd of Egyptians gathers in Cairo's Liberation square.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters have returned to Liberation Square shortly after the army tried to disperse them on Sunday.

The developments come two days after President Hosni Mubarak handed over power to Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which is headed by Defense Minister Gen. Mohammed Tantawi.

Protesters say they will not leave until the army fulfills its promise of a peaceful transition of power to a democratic civilian system.

On Saturday, Egypt's military — now in control of the country — pledged to oversee a transition of power to civilian rule.

The army said the existing cabinet would remain in place until a new one is formed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of policemen have protested in front of the interior ministry, demanding better wages and denying accusations that they tortured Egyptian protesters.

Security forces say they have fired into the air to stop policemen from entering the interior ministry.

Millions of Egyptians had been calling for the departure of Mubarak over the past few days and the establishment of a democratic government.

Experts say the Egyptian revolution may fail to bring about reforms unless the military establishment is taken over by a civilian-led government.PressTV

you probably know that already after all the hoo-haa of PAS youth going to crackdown on those celebrating the V-day and jakim going on an anti valentine day campaign, and the video of the muslim woman preacher equating sins with christianity. oh no, you didn't know that when all these came up… you knew it only when CCM (council of churches) and CFM (christian federation of malaysia) came up with statements. at least for those uninitiated people.

i don't celebrate V-day because… right, it had become so commercialised. it's simply a day for business people to get rich, that's all. however i'm not anti V-day. i don't want to be a wet blanket to spoil people's fun if they want to celebrate V-day. it's their choice. they choose 14 feb, a day where many other people are also expressing their love, a day where gifts and food go sky-high – to express their love, fine. none of my business. let them enjoy V-day. oh well… i also enjoy V-day actually… looking at some silly antics people been up to during V-day. i bet you tomorrow's paper… or should it be 15 feb paper… will have a news like a man buying 999.999 roses for his lover or spending RM8,888 for his lover on V-day. or a woman buying 1,000 different kind of thongs for her lover. heh. i'm so looking forward to reading about such things. see, i do enjoy V-day.

ok i'm not going to blog about the origin of V-day or what is V-day and all that di-di-da-da, as you can easily find it through google. what i'm going to do is to share my friend, martin jalleh's write-up, something to do with V-day but actually touching on siti nor bahyah mahamood, the muslim preacher who offended christians with her views linking V-day to christianity and immorality as tradition of christianity.

—————————————-

Of Sin, Siti and small-minded men without sagacity

By Martin Jalleh

Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood is a well-known Islamic motivator on local television and a popular TV personality, with Semanis Kurma on TV9 and Astro being her biggest hit.

As a famous personality, one would expect her to have all the facts on her fingertips in her efforts to educate, motivate and even propagate her faith! Surely her experience as a professional motivator would teach her that you can't motivate people by humiliating others!

Recently, she decided to discourage Muslim youth from celebrating Valentine's Day. It is actually quite a noble effort. I too do not believe in V's Day (Catholic though I be) and I think it is tragic to have to say "I love you" only once a year and with a blooming rose that costs a bomb!

But I have no problem with the rest of the world who are caught up by the commercialization of love and romance (though now its extended to more than just a celebration of lovebirds) and are ready to pay a crazy and costly sum, probably to make up for their neglect of 364 days in the year!

V's Day has become a day when, love is blind, the florists flourish, and hotels and restaurants reap roaring profits by holding the ridiculous! It has no religious significance whatsoever! As for those who wish to unleash their lust on V Day, VD (a different kind of rose) might await them!

Sadly, Siti's ignorance showed when she, in an RTM programme last week, linked V's Day to Christianity and immoral activities. She said "immoral activities, partying and unmarried couples associating in private are traditions of the Christian community"!

Surprisingly, as a motivator, Siti is glaringly show of understanding. V's Day is not a Christian tradition and all Christian traditions and tenets do not condone, in fact abhor "immoral activities", and "unmarried couples associating in private".

If only Siti would sit quietly and ponder she will realize that vice and virtue lie in the adherents of every faith and there is really no need of making a scapegoat of other religions and insulting them for the sins of the people of her own faithful!

A Christian Conspiracy to Corrupt Muslims?

The Malaysian Insider reported on 11 Feb. 2011 that both the KL Islamic Department (Jawi) and Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) have banned Muslims from celebrating V's Day, calling it "a Christian tradition" in a Friday sermon delivered in mosques on that day.

Alas, if Jawi, Jais or Jakim want to reduce themselves into one big Joke, it is really none of our business, but claiming that V's Day is a Christian tradition and inferring that it is part of a Christian conspiracy to "corrupt" Muslims, is to say but the least, a jaundiced view…very unislamic indeed!

The sermon continued with its slanderous spree: "Remember that the Jews and Christians would continue to deceive Muslims. They will do everything to undermine the Muslims' belief and personality"!

Prepared by the Selangor's Islamic authority, the sermon also said that V's Day "is celebrated in many ways, starting with greeting cards, flowers and dance parties. In fact some celebrate it with a date which would eventually lead to illicit sex"!

What about the illicit sex that takes place on non-Valentine Days? Who is to be blamed? What about the sex scandals committed by Members of Parliament, Ministers and a host of people in high places….were they all committed on V"s Day? Were they the result of a conspiracy by the Jews and Christians?

Jais caused quite a jolt when it pointed out that there were 257,411 births out of wedlock between 2000 and 2008 and blamed V's Day celebrations as one of the causes. You mean to say nine V's Days could produce 257, 411 births? Is this what Najib's model of moderate Islam is all about?

Not only are they insulting the Christians but they are so condescending in how they view the Muslims in Bolehland – who have in recent times been portrayed as people who are so very easily confused, convinced, converted and corrupted! But then again, we are told that is none of our business.

It appears that Siti, Jawi, Jais and Jakim need to do a lot of soul searching. Surely the strength of Islam does not lie in creating a "siege mentality" and in their ignorance, insulting other religions.

The different faiths in this country are often faced with many similar challenges which could be more easily overcome if we were to synergise our earnest efforts rather than creating slurs and suspicions on the supposed salacious conspiracies of other religions to turn young Muslims into sex fiends!

May I wish Jawi, Jais and Jakim Happy Anti-Valentine's Day! And to those who celebrate it in a big way, Happy Valentine's Day – whatever it means!

To PAS Youth, instead of conducting "immorality checks" on V's Day in opposition-ruled states, why not take a break from politics and be romantic enough to spend precious time with your beloved under the moon, always conscious that God is watching you from a distance!

To the Muslims who really want to celebrate V's Day but cannot as a result of the recent ban, please do not be angry but in keeping with the spirit of the day, send a rose to Siti, Jawi, Jais and Jakim – unless the rose is deemed by them as a Christian flower used to seduce Muslims into immorality!

I wanna talk about birthday this time. =) Few weeks ago, we, the Diploma In Interior Design, Sem 2 people celebrated Zhi Inn's birthday together at Fullhouse, Sunway Pyramid. If you do not know, Fullhouse is a lifestyle restaurant + boutique, which is beautiful in the inside but food-wise, OKOK. Not gonna talk about food this time because I didn't eat at there. Hehe.

They was planning to ask Zhi Inn out for lunch, just a casual gathering lunch and not mentioning anything about birthday as her birthday was 5 more days ahead. They planned a surprise, but no surprise. Haha. Why no surprise? It's because she already saw the cake we passed to the waiter! Yet, it's still fun.

It was a weekday and we do have class but our class was in the afternoon so we spent some times talking and taking photos at there. Woo. No food for me because money not enough. XD

Cup cakes are here!

It's a pretty good idea of having cup cakes as birthday cake becauseno need to cut the cake and each people is allocate nicely with the cakes. =) To be honest, it's my first time eating cup cakes and it's awesome.

Tada! Happy birthday! When everyone was there, Wanyi, a friend keep WhatsApp me and ask me to call the waiter to bring in the cake, but quietly and secretly, but the scene of WhatsApp-ing here and there although on the same table and me walking to the waiter looks suspicious. And Zhi Inn saw the cake's box and in the end failed, which means, didn't even need to tell me secretly at first. Haha.

We bought cards and gift. Yeah. Even when writting the card on the message also need to be secretly, but somehow, secretly became obviously. Haha.

I saw this on facebook and I'd like to dedicate it to all the prudes out there who equate Valentine with sex. Oh, those poor unfortunate, narrow-minded, self-righteous moral police (men and women) in Malaysia; they know who they are.

PETALING JAYA (June 20, 2010): FORMER finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, who predicted the fall of Selangor and Penang to the Opposition in the March 8, 2008 general election, says the opposition front, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), will probably retain only Kelantan and Penang in the next general election.

As for Selangor and Kedah, which is also government by PR, the chances of Barisan Nasional (BN) or PR emerging victorious was 50-50.

"As long as BN fields fresh and clean candidates, it surely can bring about changes (recapturing the two states)," the Umno veteran told Nanyang Siang Pau in an interview published today.

Asked for his opinion on PR's chances of realising its ambition of taking over the federal government, Daim stressed that based on the present scenario, it is a tough challenge as, "it is not easy to achieve".

He explained that since taking over the premiership, Datuk Seri Nazib Abdul Razak has been carrying out changes and striving hard to win the hearts of the rakyat, unlike before the last general election when BN neglected the shift in public sentiments, resulting in it losing several states.

"This time around, BN will surely make all preparations, with emphasis on winning the people's hearts. It will definitely not allow another political tsunami to happen," he said.

Given this, it would be overly optimistic of PR if it still thinks it can win people's votes outright come the next general election.

Asked if he thinks the 2008 political tsunami would be extended to the next general election, Daim said it all depends on BN's governance, whether its candidates are acceptable to the people, and whether PR has the capability to really play the role as an alternative front.

As it is, there is still a big gap between PR's status quo and the alternative-front role it intends to play.

Daim stressed that PR is not as strong as people believe it is in Selangor and Kedah. As such, as long as BN can live up to people's expectations, it can return to power in the two states.

He said as people become more educated, more informed and increasing critical, the candidates and not the parties they represent, will have more influence on how the people vote.

Daim aslo said it is tough for BN to recapture Kelantan and Penang "unless there is a general change in heart of the people in the two states".

"As such it is better for BN to concentrate in winning back states where it stands a better chance," he said.

On the advantage PR has in Kelantan and Penang, Daim believed it has a lot to do with the local people's sentiments, and BN will have to work hard to win the people's hearts in order to recapture the two states, including ensuring fair and just governance.

He said changes made by Najib alone is not enough to win the people's support. Leaders of other BN component parties must also go all-out to effect changes.

"There is currently a strange phenomenon, i.e. the people like the prime minister but dislike the (coalition) party he represents. Such a strange development warrants some serious thought by BN leaders in order to find a solution to it."

He said if the situation does not change, BN will be in trouble in the coming general election.

Without mincing his words, he said if Umno and other BN component parties do not want to change now it would be too late for them to do so after the people have changed. -- theSun

A small group of MCMC senior officials left for Barcelona, Spain on Friday night, looking for new ventures and opportunities. Back home, someone was praying and hoping that the group would not return as this will enable him to flex his muscle and dictate the Commission.

This guy has been 'controlling' almost all MCMC major decisions over the past two years. He is also a 'phantom' to MCMC board of directors. He will also barge into meetings of the tender board and got the guts to reverse its decision.

This includes reversing tender procurements and changing contracts' recipients to the extent of erasing those already inked under the Letter of Award (LA). He will then issue directive to the BOD to award it to his or his friends' companies.

By standard procedure, the BOD and the tender committee will have to oblige. Why? Because he will always produce letters bearing his boss' name, notes, directive and signature. So, what choice do the MCMC officials have?

His boss is non other Info Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim who late last year was embroiled in a cyber tussle with lead bloggers like Rocky's Bru and Big Dog over his son's purported involvement in MCMC massive contracts. Also, the accusation that he once raped his Indonesian maid.

On the other hand, this guy is his own special officer (pegawai khas), whom he employs almost two years ago. Whether Rais is aware or not, he SHOULD KNOW! However, I personaly believe Rais didnt sign any of the letters produced by this guy to the MCMC.

'NA', a Sabahan, is perhaps the most poweful special officer a minister ever had. Even special officers to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak are not empowered in such a manner, meddling into a ministry's agency business by deciding who should get what, when and how.

I know I might be sued for libel but I am calling on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission to look into MCMC's files and contract records, especially in the distribution of 1Malaysia netbook, Phase 2, which Rocky's Bru once commented.

A total of 25 companies are shortlisted for the Phase 2 project. Out of 349,732 netbook already slotted for distribution, 135,842 (about one third of total volume) are going to 'NA' and his friends. At the rate of RM800 each, his group is given a contract worth more than RM108 million! If commission stands at 15 per cent, he is getting about RM16 million.

I just want Rais to act on this officer of his. The MACC, on its part, can start investigation. I have valid papers to support this posting.

I think MCMC's COO Datuk JJ cant do much to chase out this guy each time he steps into his office and asks him to issue LAs to at least six companies he and friends control.

To MACC, go check out on this companies, namely Juang Jaya Sdn Bhd, CQ Communications, Tirai Jitu (M) Sdn Bhd, Creative Century Management Sdn Bhd, Esmartpay Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd and Dynasty IT Service Sdn Bhd.I humbly would also like to request YB Datuk Rais to look into this matter. If this 'NA' has been forgering his official letters and signature, then the minister is cleared of any involvement in this. Also, there is no point to keep this special assistant.

Hello people I am back. Sorry for on and off in blogging lately, it's pretty difficult to manage my time right now due to heavy assignment load and holiday activities. Haha. As you know I just finished off my Chinese New Year break lately and same as previous year, I and my family will go to Pengkalan Hulu for a Chinese New Year gathering with relatives.

I have to say that it's still as boring as before, somehow fun a little bit because get to meet all my relatives and cousin that's long-time-no-see.

Because of boring-ness, and nothing-to-do, we went to the Duty Free Shopping Complex by the border of Betong, Thailand and Pengkalan Hulu, Malaysia. Pengkalan Hulu is a suburb super little small town in Perak, near to Thailand and it's super duper peace. It's my grandma's hometown. =)

So back to the Duty Free Shopping Complex. Didn't expect much, it's just taking a little time off from sitting in the house doing nothing. The shopping house was not big but surprisingly people come and go. Both Malaysian and Thailand.

Since it's a quiet town and there's nothing much to see at there. Many chocolate, got clothing also, and also alcohol and food. But not really cheap, except for liquor. Though we, Malaysian cannot buy liquor without tax. Too bad.

Lalalalala. A supermarket in the middle of forest.

He is my brother. =)

Yeah, Apple. This is a little random post. =) Spent like half an hour there and we went back. One thing, we didn't bring passport but still get to go through the custom because we told the custom just to visit the Duty Free thing. Somehow, we still can't go through the Thailand custom. Yo.

The main hinderence to ASSIMILATION is the religious difference, esp. for Muslims as they CANNOT compromise or go beyound the LIMITS of ISLAM. Our friends in Myanmar, Singapore, UK, Europe and USA never care to understand. We, Muslims in all the Alien countries as IMMIGRANTS wish to ASSIMILATE with our host friends. It would be an advantage for us. But…..for every Muslim, our religion, ISLAM is the most valuable assect we have. Then read this extract and continue to read in Wiki.

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. It is opposed to affirmative philosophy (for example, multiculturalism) which recognizes and works to maintain differences.

The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New customs and attitudes are acquired through contact and communication. The transfer of customs is not simply a one-way process. Each group of immigrants contributes some of its own cultural traits to its new society. Assimilation usually involves a gradual change and takes place in varying degrees; full assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members.

Cultural influence

A group (a state or an ethnicity) can spontaneously adopt a different culture due to its political relevance, or to its perceived superiority. The first is the case of the Latin language and culture, that were gradually adopted by most of the subjugated people.

The second is the case of subjugated, but older and richer culture, which see itself imitated by the new masters, e.g. the victorious Roman Republic adopted more from the Hellenistic cultures than it imposed in most domains, except such Roman specialties as law and the military.

Assimilation of immigrants

Immigrant assimilation is a complex process in which an immigrant fully integrates themselves into a new country. Social scientists rely on four primary benchmarks to assess immigrant assimilation: socioeconomic status, geographic distribution, second language attainment, and intermarriage. William A.V. Clark defines immigrant assimilation "as a way of understanding the social dynamics of American society and that it is the process that occurs spontaneously and often unintended in the course of interaction between majority and minority groups".

It has been found that between 1880 and 1920, the United States took in roughly 24 million immigrants. This increase in immigration can be attributed to many historical changes. Later, during the cold war from the 1960s through the 1980s and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, over 1.8 million Jews (including some non-Jewish family members) emigrated from the former Soviet Union. The major destination countries were Israel (about 1.1 million), the United States (over 400,000), Germany (about 130,000), and Canada (about 30,000). The beginning of the twenty-first century has also marked a massive era of immigration, and sociologists are once again trying to make sense of the impact that immigration has on society and the impact it has on immigrants themselves.

On September 3oth last year, I wrote about one of my regular readers named Beng in a post called Beyond Words and Understanding is.... Beng has been a very good hearted person, reader and friend. I have never met him but used to exchange emails with him after he started sending me jokes and other stuff.

Beng suffers from carcinoma of the tongue and is in the final stage of his life. The doctor has given him till until February 28th to be on this earth. Although he has relatives in KL and a brother in Bukit Mertajam, he has not really told them the seriousness of his condition. He lives alone somewhere in Paya Terubong and has net access.

After I put up that post on Beng HERE, I introduced Beng to my dear friend, Angela, a cancer survivor herself. I did not feel competent enough to reach out to Beng because I do not have in-depth understanding about how to deal with or encourage or minister to cancer patients.

Angela has been a source of encouragement and entertainment to Beng. They have forged a beautiful friendship and she is probably coming up to Penang to see him soon. Perhaps now you know why she is such a dear friend to me, and I believe, to Beng too.

Death, to me, is a very painful process. It is traumatic to the one dying and to loved one and friends as well.

This evening, I wish to request you, dear reader, to reach out to Beng as he goes through the last days of his life. He only has about 14 more days to live, according to the doctor.

If you feel moved to send him an email, a card or some inspirational message, please send them to:

bengship@yahoo.com

I really hope that you can reach out to Beng and leave a footprint in his heart that he may know that we remember him and are praying for him.

Thank you, dear reader and friend, for your kindness and compassion.

Take care and do remember Beng in your prayers. Beng, hang on in there ok? We are praying for you. God bless you and everyone always.

In contemporary society, different understandings of the term has resulted in two different and seemingly inconsistent strategies:

The first focuses on interaction and communication between different cultures. Interactions of cultures provide opportunities for the cultural differences to communicate and interact to create multiculturalism.

These different understandings of multiculturalism are not absolutely distinct from each other. Moreover, the opposing understandings and strategies sometimes actually complement each other work to generate new cultural phenomena that embody the ideologies of the individual cultures and the relationships between them.

Mary Louise Pratt coined the phrase "the contact zone" to describe cultural clashes and operations.In the cultural environment they illustrated, cultures are not only interacted or isolated. Those two strategies work at the same time and apply to different aspects of cultures to create new forms of cultures.

Multiculturalism can be defined in a ways that go beyond human activities to give a vivid multi-dimensional understanding of cultural interaction, cultural isolation and phenomena between these two extremes.

Elia (right) is clearly confident that she can get away with behaving (and dressing) how she likes!

Cheers to Elia Geneid the niece of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and daughter of his favourite sister Raziah Geneid. Except, of course, any other Muslim girl shown publicly waving a pint of beer or enjoying champagne such a fashion would risk a public lashing these days!

For this reason Sarawak Report, which does not condemn the consumption of alcohol, wonders why Elia and her friends would dare to behave in such a fashion, flaunting their drinking habits for the cameras? We can only conclude that such behaviour is tolerated by their families, who nevertheless demand that other girls behave in a far more modest fashion or risk punishment and humiliation.

Contrast Elia's brazen, bare-chested style to the demure dress and behaviour expected of other Muslim women by the men who run the BN government, including her uncle Taib Mahumud. The story last year of a young model who narrowly escaped a public lashing for drinking a beer in a hotel bar should have been enough to strike fear into thousands of young ladies, but not Elia. But then members of Taib's family have been known to make it clear that they consider themselves to be above the law, which is only meant to apply to others and not those who actually make the laws.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who narrowly escaped a flogging but only after a wave of national and international outrage

We suggest that Taib thinks a bit more carefully about how he allows his family to behave, given the way women like Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno are treated by his government. Elia is, as we have already exposed, the beneficiary of millions and millions of ringgit handed to her by Taib in the form of lands, which he had taken from indigenous people, despite their native customary rights. Therefore, she is breaking the law in more ways than one.

More champagne, bare chests and fabulous expensive jewelry - time to 'lead by example'?

Alternatively, her new husband might decide to have a word in her ear….. but he still appears so dazzled by his own luck in marrying such wealth he probably has yet to find his tongue in such matters!

Uncle Taib, there are so many more pictures of your feckless family flaunting their bodies, their jewels and their drink, that you preaching purist Muslim behaviour at everyone else is going to start making them very angry indeed.

BERLIN, Feb 13 — "Almanya", a rare feel-good film about Turkish immigrants in Germany that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival yesterday, defies recent political declarations that multiculturalism has failed in Europe.

Coming amid an anguished public debate about the place of foreigners in Germany, the debut film by two Turkish-German sisters delighted filmgoers with its comic and optimistic depiction of immigrants' efforts to integrate in an alien society.

"After so many dark films we wanted to show a perspective that we felt a lot closer to, that was not so extreme and negative," said Nesrin Samdereli, who wrote the screenplay, at a news conference in Berlin.

"Encounters between Germans and Turks are often quite comic, and that is what we wanted to portray."

Turkish-German films such as Fatih Akin's "Head On" — the first German film in 18 years to win the top prize at the Berlin festival — have won much critical acclaim in recent years, yet have mostly focused on social troubles in immigrant communities.

"Almanya" humorously narrates the story of a family of Turkish origin that moved to Germany to find better-paid work in the 1960s and now bridges two cultures.

Turning the classic perspective of immigrants as the Other on its head, "Almanya" shows how shocked the family is to arrive in a country populated by blond giants who devour pigs, worship a suffering figure on a cross and speak "gibberish".

Director Yasemin Samdereli says she created a fantasy language as a stylistic means "to give German viewers the same feeling of oddness and confusion caused by a new language".

Multiculturalism not dead?

Chancellor Angela Merkel last year declared that multiculturalism had failed in Germany and newcomers needed to better integrate, a sentiment French and British leaders Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron echoed this month.

"Almanya", which will be released in Germany in both Turkish and German, pokes fun at the need to assimilate. In one scene, when a "Gastarbeiter" (guest worker) seeks to obtain German nationality, a bureaucrat insists he commits to devouring pork, holidaying in Majorca and sporting a Hitler-esque moustache.

But the film also shows the great efforts made by immigrants to integrate, while retaining their own culture.

"We had noticed over many years that the issue of Turks in Germany is often cast in a negative light . . . and it was quite tiring," said Yasemin Samdereli. "My own family tried very hard to face up to the new challenges (when they arrived in Germany), but this was never portrayed."

The Samdereli sisters said they incorporated many autobiographical experiences into the film, such as forcing their mother to stage Christmas for them.

The film ends on an optimistic note, with Merkel holding a ceremony for the Turkish guest workers to acknowledge their contribution to the German economic miracle. A third-generation Turkish-German boy holds a speech in perfect German.

"It shows multiculturalism hasn't failed (and) is perhaps still emerging," said actor Vedat Erincin, who plays the elderly guest worker. "We feel like neo-Europeans, we live here, this is where our children are growing up and it is going to get much, much better."

The 61st Berlin film festival runs to next Sunday, culminating in the awards ceremony taking place on Saturday. "Almanya" is screening in the main film line-up but is not in the running for awards. — Reuters